Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

This week’s media is an eye opener to hear the way parents so much appreciate what the Head Starts is doing to help them and their children. I see this as a feed back to the educators by expressing themselves and show how they appreciate what they are doing in order to make their voices heard and not only that it encourages the educators to be more effective in working with the children and their families. It’s so impressive.

Children get more attention from their parents when they are being involved in their education. They get to know what their children’s program look like and how they can continue to help their children when they are at home which make them get more attention from their parents. I like the way one of the parents put it, that she first thought that what the children were doing was just to play but she later realized that they were actually learning and she was encouraged to pick the idea up. I was very impressed listening to the parents how they shared that they were not only helping their children but it has helped them to go further in their education which I believe empowers. Head Start has helped them to be confident in themselves. It helped them to see themselves as team members with the educators.

Parents involvement has really add value to what educators are doing because some of them actually thought people working with the children especially with the little ones are baby sitters. They now appreciate what the educators are doing better because of their involvement.

I see parents/family involvement as an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field because they don’t only speak for themselves and their children but also the community as a whole. It also helps the parents improving themselves by going further in their education and also getting involved in making decisions with the governing board of the program and with the work group that administers it.

Reference:

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/pfs.

 

Quality Programs for All Children

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the US includes a wide range of part-day, full-school-day, and full-work-day programs, under educational, social welfare, and commercial auspices, funded and delivered in a variety of ways in both the public and the private sectors, designed sometimes with an emphasis on the “care” component of ECEC and at other times with stress on “education” or with equal attention to both. Although ECEC scholars and advocates are increasingly convinced of the need to integrate all these program types, categorical funding coupled with diverse societal values continue to support the differences. The result is a fragmented ECEC system, of wide ranging quality and with skewed access, but with some movement in recent years toward the integration of early childhood education and care.

ECEC policies currently include the whole range of government actions (federal, state, and sometimes local) to influence the supply and/or demand for ECEC and program quality. These government activities include: direct delivery of ECEC services; direct and indirect financial subsidies to private providers of education and care such as grants, contracts, and tax incentives, financial subsidies to parents/consumers of ECEC such as grants and tax benefits to permit or facilitate access to services or to permit parents to remain at home and withdraw from the labor force at the time of childbirth or adoption for a brief period of time, and the establishment and enforcement of regulations.

Interest in and participation in out-of-home, non-parental child care has increased dramatically in the U.S. over the last few decades, as has policy attention and public funding. The pressures from employed mothers with young children continue to rise, and underscore the need for more accessible, affordable, and better quality ECEC services. The U.S. has carried out more extensive and more rigorous research on the impact of this dramatic change in how young children are reared and cared for than any other country. The hoped-for outcomes now include: the productivity of the current and future workforce, the prevention and reduction of social problems such as welfare dependency, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, and school failure, support for the work, efforts of welfare-dependent and poor parents to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency, enhancing the development of young children, and helping parents fulfill their roles as nurturers and teachers to their children by providing skill training (Kamerman, 2001).

Reference:

http://www.childcarecanada.org/sites/default/files/3_Kamerman.pdf

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

I chose this specialization to provide resources, support, education, and encouragement to children and family for fair treatment and for their voices to be heard. I want to advocate for children because I’m not comfortable living in a society where there is inequality and people’s voices are not been heard especially children and their families. I want to be able to see how I can contribute in closing the gap created by inequality especially in having difficulty in having access to high quality program in early childhood for early intervention. As an advocate I believe this would go a long way in making changes in the lives of the children and their families.

I believe becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals and for the field in order to make changes in the life of the children and their families. No social service agency can ignore the rules that affect those it serves and still be effective. Art and culture organizations know that without public support many groups would flounder and great opera houses would be difficult to build. Environmental organizations realize that the public must be energized if the earth is to be preserved. The list goes on. While services are critical, so is speaking out on the issues that concern those in need.

The three goals related goals I have that related to this course at this time include:

• Making a difference in the lives of children and their families by helping to make their voices heard.
• Work in collaboration with my colleagues and others in making changes in the lives of children and family.
• Becoming a skilled and confident advocate.

 Reference:

http://www.zimmerman-lehman.com/whyispublicpolicyadvocacy.htm